Baked
Tasting food that makes me feel, like when Harry met Sally, well, it is one of my favorite things in life. I’m excited to share I recently tasted something so full of flavor that I had to try making it at home. This recipe went viral on TikTok but since I don’t tick or tot, I was out of the loop. Who knew olive oil, flour, sugar, and lemon zest would make for such a pallet-pleasing desert that is full of flavor and texture until the very last bite?
I don’t consider myself a baker. Ingredients need to be precise, cutting corners or adding a pinch extra doesn’t often lend to the best outcomes, but I am patting myself on the back for this one. Maggi Jayne’s Olive Oil Cake turned out excellent!
Here’s how I found this new favorite…I recently spent a weekend in Charlotte with my daughter indulging in good vibes and celebrating her 27 years of life with her friends. This is the most important invite/guest list I could ever be on, and I feel extremely blessed to be a part of her inner circle world.
Joining the party were her friends from Charlotte, primarily girls she graduated with from UNCC and a few others from the WWC, where she works. One girl is married and pregnant, another engaged, some single, and a few free spirits, but all of them clearly had something in common and that was Peyton, #pete #sweet PEA.
Peyton’s friends lived in and around Charlotte, one in Charleston, another in Raleigh and they all came together that night because they love my daughter. It was an extraordinary moment for me but for the first time in a long time, I felt my age. I felt 27 years pass before my eyes, the trips we’d taken when she was a baby, just the two of us, visiting my girlfriends in Charleston, Florida, Chicago, Ohio, and here we were 27 years later celebrating with hers. Life sure has come full circle and despite all the hard, life is amazing and beautiful, and this moment reminded me of that.
So, I hope you enjoy my version of Olive Oil Cake and that the process offers you time to reflect on fond memories and gives you a new sense of flavor for baking like it did me.
Cheers,
MJ
ingredients
Produce:
2 Lemons, zested
3-6 Rosemary twigs
Dairy:
4 Eggs
7tbs Butter, melted
3 tbs Milk, skim
Baking + Spices:
1.5 tsp Baking poser
1 3/4 cups Flour
1 cup Sugar
1 cup Powdered Sugar - used for topping after baked and cool.
Oils + Vinegars:
3/4 cup Olive Oil
Bake:
Foam Spring Pan - 10"
Parchment Paper
350 degrees
30-35 minutes
I like to pull all my ingredients and place them on the counter before I start cooking. It helps keep me focused because lets face it, my mind wonders and I’m usually on cloud 9 while I’m in the kitchen.
Another tip I’ve found helpful is doing my best at putting ingredients back in their home, once I’ve used. That way I don’t make the mistake of adding sugar or salt twice - learned that from past experience.
I decided to zest my two large lemons first. I will warn you, zesting is not my favorite thing to do in the kitchen as I’m always afraid my knuckles are going to get skinned, makes me nauseous to think about. BUT, the flavor those two plump and juicy lemons, made a big difference in the flavor.
Next I began with three serpent bowls.
Bowl #1 - Flour, baking soda - Sifting these ingredients is a MUST! I am lucky enough to still have my grandmother’s sifter, how I love thinking about Mary while I”m sifting.
Bowl #2 - eggs, sugar (granulated) lemon zest. Beat with an electric mixer; slowly for 3-5 minutes and pick up the speed for 10 minutes. We want this mixture to be light and creamy and turn pale in color, not bright like the yolks.
Bowl #3 - Melted butter, olive oil + milk
Next, add some of your flour mixture to your egg mixture and let beat for 3- 5 mins. Next add some of your olive oil mix and beat 3-5 minutes. Continue until all the mixtures are beating.
Preheat oven to 350. I used a spring foam pan, because the only other cake I’ve baked is cheesecake, so feel free to use an actual cake pan.
I sprayed olive oil on the bottom of the pan added flour and cut out a piece of garment paper and placed on the bottom of the pan, yes on top of the oil and flower.
I added my batter to the pan and place in the pre-heated oven for 31 minutes. The cake was a light golden when I pulled it out of the oven. Next, I Iet it cool in the pan for 10 minutes, transferred to a plate to cool for another 10 and then sifted powdered sugar to cover the top. Lastly I placed rosemary twigs, and tada! You too have created a moist, delightful cake that everyone you share it with will love.